Here we go agian...

Clean Dean

Clean Dean

Keep it clean !!!
A black car completely free of swirls marks, marring, etc., I haven't.

I was in a Mercedes showroom this week and I was looking at a brand new E-Class just out of the wrapper, and I saw some very minor marring at different angles in different lighting. Granted they were very minor, but I could still see them. The salesman told me that the car was delivered just (2) days before I looked at it. Why are todays clearcoats still so susceptible to marring! I love my black car but in direct sunlight it seems to be developing more swirl marks/marring no matter how careful I am when washing. I can't wait for the spring when I intend on taking a day to pc the vehicle with 3M SMR.



:sosad
 
I have never seen a swirl-free black car either. Some halogen or fluorescent lights will certainly highlight very light swirl marks.
 
I once saw a black Ferrari at an expensive restaurant that came pretty close. Only on very close inspection did I notice some swirls. This was at night under pretty strong parking lights. I tried to be as discrete as possible because I was getting some strange looks.
 
I do every day. At work when I see the detailing crew pulling off the plastic protecting cover on the hood. Pure black car, not a single swirl on the car. I've tried to find them, nope. No excuse me, there are no swirls just where the protective covers were, everywhere else there is just a little minor swirls.
 
All paint surfaces have micromarring... you just don't see it. Because black contains the full spectrum of color... BAM... they stand out in almost all light conditions. The secret to a black car is to get all micro-marring to go in the same direction. I'm darn close!
 
i have never seen a swirl free black car - i have only last year purchased a black Bentley Arnage - when standing approx 6inchs off the car it looks good - when u get really close - and i mean face close - u can see swirls - even though i have used swirl free polishes - high speed polishers - with leveling pads - and it still looks the same - with very few improvements - i also have this problem on the midnight blue Brooklands. I guess there is only so much you can do, or is there?





J.R
 
What have you used to achieve a nearly swirl free vechile?



John Ross:nixweiss
 
Best paint job I ever saw was on a Testarossa fresh from the shop. It had been painted by Junior Conway of Junior's House of Color in So Cal. He advertises in Cavallino magazine.

I forgot how many coats but the paint was <em class='bbc'>other-worldly[/i]. It's the only adjective I know to describe it. It looked like it was alive. I imagine it would be the opposite of a Zaino gloss. A paint job like that doesn't reflect so much as it absorbs and shows you every little detail including swirls. It's like looking into deep space and seeing every little star possible yet seeing nothing but the deepest black at the same time.

I do remember the price tag - $15,000.

I don't know what Junior uses for wax now but back then he used One Grand Blitz as a final coat. That's what convinced me to use it.
 
DavidB

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

The secret to a black car is to get all micro-marring to go in the same direction. I'm darn close!</blockquote>

Are you saying that by paying close attention to the direction of light on these surfaces that you would polish in a certain direction to make these not so noticable? Could you please go into more detail as to which direction, (anology with the grain, against the grain)
Thanks
Brian
aka buldog
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by bretfraz [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>It's like looking into deep space and seeing every little star possible yet seeing nothing but the deepest black at the same time. [/b]</blockquote>That's almost poetic. ;)
 
Hey Buldog,



I'd love to hear a response from other users about which directions they go in as well, but here's what I do:



Study a swirled car the next time you're in a parking lot (I do it at traffic lights but I get weird looks) and notice where swirls are most noticeable and which direction they are in. Remember that they are most likely on every inch of the paint so the ones you can see are the obvious ones.



Short answer:



Back to front on horizontal panels, up and down on vertical ones. Still figuring out which direction to go on the diagonally sloping ones, probably with the direction of the slope.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by bretfraz [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>I don't know what Junior uses for wax now but back then he used One Grand Blitz as a final coat. That's what convinced me to use it. [/b]</blockquote>Funny story. I started using Blitz b/c I read an article in Motor Trand that said the guy who details Jerry Seinfeld's cars uses Blitz/ One Grand products exclusively.
 
Black is not special....you can just see them easier! They are there in our cars, just as bad if not worse than black.....you just don't see them as easily! How do u like that!
 
Here is a conclusion I have came to = The more you wash /wax/qd/clay the more you put these microscopic scratches in it or worst the greater chance of causing scratches. I was once told by several people at a bodyshop that the more you touch your car's finish the more you scratch it. I have concluded that one should use a good sealant that lasts instead of using a carnauba every month, already enough touching the finish when washing. This is why I have a mixed feelings about QD the whole car frequently= more touching than necessary. I just use QD for touch ups (bird pope/stains)or after the removal of KSG to make sure I didnt miss a spot. This is just my opinion no scientific proof or anything.
 
Theoretically, if you prep the paint extremely well and apply the first coat of sealant very lightly, from then on you will be touching the sealant, not the paint, assuming you are very gentle and work on very clean paint.



Wax is much thicker than sealant, it would allow there to be that much more stuff in the way for anything that wants to harm your paint, be it someone touching it or anything else. You're not going to mess up your paint buffing carnauba unless you are using low quality materials or very poor technique.
 
you are basically marring the finish when you use them....putting fine scratches in the clearcoat hopefully that can not be seen with the naked eye. These marrs get worse and worse with frequent application. On a newer car that has good paint, I still don't know why people depend on these one step products for cleaning as there are better ways.



Puterbum brings up some valid points as well. If you are careful about the products you use, and towels, and techniques, you are going the best you can to fight against future swirls...........
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by C240 [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Here is a conclusion I have came to = The more you wash /wax/qd/clay the more you put these microscopic scratches in it or worst the greater chance of causing scratches. I was once told by several people at a bodyshop that the more you touch your car's finish the more you scratch it. I have concluded that one should use a good sealant that lasts instead of using a carnauba every month, already enough touching the finish when washing. This is why I have a mixed feelings about QD the whole car frequently= more touching than necessary. I just use QD for touch ups (bird pope/stains)or after the removal of KSG to make sure I didnt miss a spot. This is just my opinion no scientific proof or anything. [/b]</blockquote>
C240, I understand the thought process you are going through. It's sort of a catch-22 because if you QD your car every few days (which I've started doing), your car will hardly ever get dirty at all and will be a lot less susceptible to scratches when it comes time to do a full wash AND will require a full wash probably once every two weeks instead of every week. However, you'll be inducing microscratches every time you QD.
 
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